School rejects bookstore's ad

First Amendment expert says censorship may be illegal.

First Amendment expert says censorship may be illegal.

November 27, 2005|ERIN MILLER Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Another Book Store owners Robin Beck and Patty Henges wanted to support the students who support their bookstore. They decided this fall to advertise their shop in the Mishawaka High School Alltold, the student newspaper, and said they gave a copy of their business card and a $25 check to a store regular who is on the newspaper staff. A few weeks later, Henges received a call from newspaper adviser Jeff Halicki telling her the ad wouldn't appear in the publication after all. She said Halicki told her school officials decided not to "expose our teens to your type of establishment." Beck and Henges, who were married in a civil ceremony in Canada two years ago, opened the coffee shop and bookstore in Mishawaka's 100 Center last year to serve the region's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. The student who took the advertisement added information about a weekly discussion group at the bookstore for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight teenagers and young adults to the ad text. The student did not respond to repeated requests for an interview with The Tribune. A copy of the business card, without mention of the discussion group, ran in the February 2005 edition of the Alltold. A similar ad also ran in the Riley High School newspaper this year. South Bend Community Schools spokeswoman Judy Tovey said the district allows each high school to set its own policies for accepting advertisements. "It's at their discretion," Tovey said. "If it's illegal, we're not going to run it." Halicki told The Tribune in an e-mail he questioned bringing up sexuality in the school publication. The ad is the only one rejected this year. "I was uncomfortable putting content in front of our readers that discussed sex or sexual orientation," he wrote. Publication policies The School City of Mishawaka bylaws and policies for school-sponsored publications say the publications should be "generally suitable" for all students. Administrators decided the ad didn't meet those guidelines, said Gregg Hixenbaugh, director of human resources for School City of Mishawaka. "We typically don't have sexuality discussions in a student publication," Hixenbaugh said. "There is concern that there would be concerns among parents, students and other members of the community who would read the newspaper." District spokeswoman Shirley Ross agreed. "Our schools need to reflect the general views of the community," she said, adding that Mishawaka is a conservative community. "We would have more parents unhappy with (the advertisement) than would be pleased with that." The school's reasoning may not be enough to avoid being a violation of the First Amendment, said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va. "They have to present some legal justification," Goodman told The Tribune in a telephone interview. "If the student (or advertiser) could show that this was in fact an attempt to silence this viewpoint, then that may very well be impermissible under the First Amendment." School newspaper editors may decide not to run an ad based on content, but court decisions suggest that school officials may not be able to censor ads, Goodman said. Hixenbaugh believes school officials were within their rights to decline to run the ad. "We're confident that our polices and guideline language is consistent with federal and state law," Hixenbaugh said. Surprised by decision Some students told The Tribune they would not object to an ad for the bookstore. "It surprises me," freshman Celiena Walker said. "There are gay students here." Freshman Brittiny Herthoge said she was surprised, too. "They don't seem to discriminate against (gay students) at all," Herthoge said. But the news about the rejected ad didn't surprise senior Jessica Payne. "There are gay kids here, but I guess the administration doesn't want to talk about it," Payne said. George Marzotto, Mishawaka High School principal, said the school does not try to limit discussion of controversial topics. He said he has never heard of students who wanted to publish articles about sexuality. Discussions of sexuality in the high school's health classes follow state mandates for curriculum, he said. "We're bound by state law to cover standards," Marzotto said. "In health class, the state policy is abstinence." Teaching abstinence State law requires schools to teach that abstinence is expected of all students but does not disallow teaching on other subjects, said Suzanne Crouch, the Indiana Department of Education's director of coordinated school health programs. "Throughout Indiana, our communities range from very conservative to very liberal," Crouch said in a telephone interview. "It does allow for each community to decide how it is going to teach sexuality." Local control in one community might mean stopping the discussion of sexuality after covering abstinence. In another community, the lecture also may include information about contraception and other topics, Crouch said. At Mishawaka High School, teachers are prepared to answer questions about sexuality but keep their lectures focused on abstinence, Marzotto said. He did not say if discussing alternative sexuality meant promoting activity other than abstinence. But Beck and Henges wonder if students can find teachers to ask those types of questions. The couple believes students need a "safe place" to talk about their sexuality and gender-related questions, and if schools won't foster that discussion, the bookstore owners are willing to do so for them. Citing a survey by the Massachusetts Department of Education, Beck estimated that nine out of 10 students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered are harassed each year in school, and 30 percent of those students attempt suicide. Three area high schools -- Riley, LaPorte and Penn -- do have gay-straight alliances, clubs for students wishing to address sexuality issues. Beck and Henges have heard from students attending other local schools whose attempts to initiate similar clubs at their schools have failed because they didn't have the minimum number of students needed to enroll. "They need to open their minds up," Beck said about area school officials. "They need to realize they have gays and lesbians at their schools they need to support."Staff writer Erin Miller: emiller@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6553